Cavalier boys, Mountie girls move closer to MVC crowns

Wednesday

Sep 26, 2007 at 12:01 AMSep 26, 2007 at 3:59 AM

BUSHKILL — Hang back, let Stroudsburg do all the work and make a push in the final mile. Without the speed to outkick the Mounties, the Cavaliers needed a plan, a strategy to help carry them past their rival and one step closer to the Mountain Valley Conference title, and that was it.

ANDREW KROECKEL

BUSHKILL — Hang back, let Stroudsburg do all the work and make a push in the final mile.

Without the speed to outkick the Mounties, the Cavaliers needed a plan, a strategy to help carry them past their rival and one step closer to the Mountain Valley Conference title, and that was it. Of course, it would all go for naught if they fell too far behind.

But they never did, not with Amr Aldeen winning (again), Craig Keefer running his best race of the year, Andrew Walck doing exactly what he's done all year, and Kyle Hess and Jim Gherardi finding a way to make the most important passes of the race.

Those five finished in the top nine to lead East Stroudsburg South to a 25-30 victory over Stroudsburg at a quad meet at East Stroudsburg North on Tuesday, a five-point margin that very likely could decide the the MVC title.

"Every time we go against Stroudsburg, we know that they're going to give us a good run," Walck said. "So we just tried to keep a good pace and then at the end try to pass as many as we can."

The Cavaliers (8-0) now have a two-meet lead on the Mounties (6-2) and Pocono Mountain East (6-2). South has meets remaining with the Timberwolves, Cardinals, Pocono Mountain West and Lehighton, teams it handled comfortably in the first half.

The Cavaliers won the MVC Championships in 2005 but last won the regular-season title in 2003.

"We can't take any other race easy just because we got this one," said Walck, who was the third Cavalier and sixth runner overall to cross the line (18:49).

Walck has consistently been in the Cavaliers' top three all season, usually finishing second to Aldeen, but that distinction belonged to Keefer on Tuesday. The senior turned in his best performance of the season, finishing fifth overall (18:38).

"I didn't really have a lot of confidence this season," said Keefer, who finished 10th the last time North, South, Pleasant Valley and Stroudsburg competed in a dual meet. "I think that's just what I needed, this race. This definitely was good for me, definitely a good race."

While Keefer and Walck were fighting off Stroudsburg's Eric Foti, Hess and Gherardi were battling Bryant Sanders and Ryan Myles. The two Cavaliers made the critical move together in the third mile, finishing eighth and ninth, an effective and decisive eight-point swing.

"Once it started to get in the second mile, the third mile, we wanted to push them and break their pack," Hess said.

Pleasant Valley freshman Samantha Klingel won the girls race in 21:32, but Alee Gormley led a group of five Mounties in the top eight as Stroudsburg won its two meets easily to remain undefeated.

With Megan Pickarski taking a rest, Gormley provided an early challenge to Klingel before eventually finishing in 21:48 to help the Mounties (8-0) shut out South and nearly do the same to North.